The above- and belowground carbon pools of two mixed deciduous forest stands located in East-Flanders (Belgium)

Carbon (C) storage was studied in both an oak-beech and an ash stand located in the 80-year-old Aelmoeseneie experimental forest (Gontrode, East-Flanders, Belgium). The total carbon stock amounted to 324.8 tons C ha(-1) in the oak-beech stand and 321.4 tons Cha(-1) in the ash stand. In the oak-beech stand 41.5% of the total C was found in the soil organic matter, 11% in the litter layer and 47.5% in the vegetation. In the ash stand, the soil organic matter contained 53.0% of the total C stock, the litter layer only 1.0% and the vegetation 46.0%. Most vegetation carbon was found in the stems of the trees (51.1% in the oak-beech and 58.7% in the ash stand). Although total carbon storage appeared to be very similar, distribution of carbon over the different ecosystem compartments was related to species composition and site characteristics.